Archives For A Greener Place

Allow me to wish Happy New Year to all new arrivals and faithful patrons alike. I think most of us would agree that 2010 was better than 2009. It certainly was for Intercon. The discourse on the site exceeded my expectations in both volume and quality, making it a pleasure to post new material as well as read the responses. Continue Reading…

On the Northern side of Wales, the small town of Portmeirion rises from the hills beside the water into a quaint collection of brightly colored buildings each bearing a percentage of inherently sustainable components. Nearly every building in the coastal spot has been built with pieces of older buildings reclaimed and integrated for a second architectural life. But despite the fact that the use of reclaimed materials and their ability to bolster a growing deconstruction industry is steadily on the rise, Portmeirion’s building stock was not built recently—or even in the last decade—but rose from the ground over half a century ago.

The housing boom of the 90’s brought the explosion of “McMansions” across U.S. suburbs leaving us with hundreds of thousands of examples for a new wave for upper class living. While the recession may have created a lull in the construction of these shrines to excess, there is no data to suggest that Americans have outgrown their hunger for raw square footage and the public perception that space equals societal stature. The idea of a green home two, three or four times the size of the average house is a bit of an oxymoron with notions of efficiency and excess instantly butting heads, but perhaps there are ways for the lives of the luxurious to follow a more sustainable path. Continue Reading…